Article I Name
The name of the organization is the "Cornell Law Review."
Article II Purpose
1. The purpose of the organization is to publish a periodical entitled the "Cornell Law Review."
2. One volume of the Cornell Law Review shall be published in each academic year. Each volume shall be published in issues at various times throughout the academic year. The publication schedule shall be specified in the Bylaws and as so specified shall be adhered to as rigidly as possible.
3. The holding of incidental social affairs shall be within the purposes of the organization.
Article III Membership
1. There shall be two classes of members of the Cornell Law Review. These classes shall be designated as "Editors" and "Associates."
2. Any second or third year student of the Cornell Law School is eligible for selection as an Associate. Criteria for selection of Associates shall be specified in the Bylaws.
3. Editors shall be elected from among eligible Associates by the Board of Editors at a meeting called for that purpose. Details and procedures for such election and the definition of the term "eligible Associate" shall be specified in the Bylaws. Nothing in this constitution shall prohibit the election of all eligible Associates as Editors.
4. The Board of Editors shall be the governing body of the Cornell Law Review and shall be responsible for interpreting this constitution and the Bylaws. Each Editor shall be a member of the Board of Editors until his or her graduation, withdrawal, or expulsion from Cornell Law School. [Amended April 2008]
5. All members shall have writing and proving duties as specified in the Bylaws.
6. All Editors and Associates shall abide by the Law School Standards of Professional Conduct, Law School Code of Academic Integrity, and University Code of Academic Integrity.
7. Anti-Discrimination Statement
(a) It is the policy of the Cornell Law Review to support equality of opportunity. No person shall be denied membership in the Cornell Law Review or participation in any of its activities, including publication, on the basis of any legally prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or handicap. To improve the overall quality of its publication, the Cornell Law Review hopes to expand its membership to include persons from traditionally underrepresented groups as well as persons with diverse viewpoints. Sexual harassment is an act of discrimination and, as such, will not be tolerated.
(b) Subsection (a) shall be printed in the Cornell Law Review.
Article IV Officers
1. The Cornell Law Review shall have the following officers: one Editor-in-Chief, five Managing Editors, one Executive Editor, one Senior Article Editor, one Senior Note Editor, eight to eleven Article Editors, one Symposium Editor, and five Note Editors. All officers shall be members of the Board of Editors. [amended February 2006; February 2009]
2. The Editor-in-Chief shall have overall responsibility for publishing the Cornell Law Review and shall be the chief executive officer of the Cornell Law Review.
3. The Managing Editors shall be the administrative officers of the Cornell Law Review and shall assist the Editor-in-Chief in his or her editorial duties. In the event of the temporary absence or incapacity of the Editor-in-Chief, the Managing Editors shall assume responsibility for the publication of the Cornell Law Review, but only during such absence or incapacity.
4. The Article Editors shall be responsible for soliciting, obtaining, editing, and preparing for publication works by nonstudent authors for inclusion in the Cornell Law Review. The Senior Article Editor shall allocate the editing responsibilities among the eight to eleven Articles Editors, manage the article selection process up until the selection of an article for publication, and serve as primary liaison with the other officers. The Article Editors shall divide their responsibilities in any manner they desire, subject to approval by the Senior Article Editor and the Editor-in-Chief. [Amended February 2006; February 2009]
5. The Note Editors shall be responsible for supervising, reviewing, and editing the works of student authors, recommending those suitable for publication to the Editor-in-Chief, and preparing selected works for publication. The Senior Note Editor shall allocate the note writing and compiling responsibilities among the five Note Editors, direct the Law Review's annual writing competition, and serve as primary liaison with the other officers. The Note Editors shall review works by both member and nonmember student authors. The Note Editors shall divide their responsibilities in any manner they desire, subject to approval by the Senior Note Editor and the Editor-in-Chief. [Amended February 2006]
6. The Executive Editor shall assign production work, set production deadlines, and assist the Editor-in-Chief in the management of the Law Review's business affairs. [Amended February 2006]
7. The Symposium Editor shall coordinate the journal's symposium issue. If the journal does not have a symposium issue, the Symposium Editor will assist the Article Office. [Amended February 2009]
8. Each officer has the affirmative duty and responsibility to train and instruct the successor to that office in the proper performance of the duties of his office.
9. All officers shall be elected by the Board of Editors by secret ballot at an annual meeting called for that purpose and shall serve a term of one year, such term to commence following such elections, subject to section 8 of this article. Details and procedures for such election shall be specified in the Bylaws.
10. In the event an office becomes vacant, the Editor-in-Chief, or the Managing Editors, in the event the office of Editor-in-Chief is vacant, shall call a special meeting for the purpose of filling such vacancy. If such vacancy is filled by one already holding office, the prior office shall immediately become vacant and shall be filled by election at the same meeting. An office shall become vacant upon the officer's death, physical or mental incapacity, dismissal or resignation from the Cornell Law School, or resignation from the office or from the Board of Editors. Resignation from an office does not include resignation from the Board of Editors. [Amended February 2006]
11. Any officer, Editor, or Associate may be removed from his office or from the Law Review for failure to perform, in good faith, the duties of his office, or of an Editor or Associate. Any Editor who does not hold office may be demoted to Associate status for failure to perform, in good faith, his or her duties as defined in the Bylaws. Removal shall take place at a special meeting of the Board of Editors, called for that purpose, pursuant to Article V of this constitution. Except as otherwise provided in this section, only members shall be permitted to attend and only Editors permitted to vote at such meeting. The officer or member whose removal is being considered shall be afforded notice and the opportunity to be heard, including the right to be represented at such meeting by a representative of his own choosing; such representative need not be a member. The officer or member whose removal is being considered shall be removed only if two thirds of all Editors vote to remove. In the event an officer is removed from office, the Board of Editors shall immediately elect a successor. These procedures also apply to the demotion of an Editor to Associate status or adoption by the Board of Editors of any action that involves formal notice to the law School administration. [Amended April 2008]
12. No officer shall exercise editorial authority over his or her own note. If the Editor-in-Chief's note is being published, one of the Managing Editors shall assume the responsibilities of Editor-in-Chief for that note.
Article V Meetings
1. The Board of Editors shall hold two annual meetings which shall be held on or after the first of February and prior to the tenth of April. At the first of these meetings the Board of Editors shall elect new Editors. Such new Editors shall become members of the Board of Editors at the conclusion of the election. Only Editors shall be eligible to attend and vote at this meeting. With the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, the Board of Editors may vote to elevate an Associate to the Board upon the condition that the Associate complete within a set period of time the requirements for elevation as set forth in the Bylaws. Such conditionally elevated Editors shall become members of the Board of Editors at the conclusion of the election. However, should any Editor so elevated fail to meet the conditions of his or her elevation, the Editor's status will automatically revert to Associate status and any office held by the Editor shall become vacant. The Editor-in-Chief, or the Managing Editors, in the event the office of Editor-in-Chief is vacant, shall then call a special meeting to hold elections to fill such vacancy. Any Associate who is not recommended for election to the Board of Editors, or who is not elected to the Board of Editors, may appeal these decisions as provided in the Bylaws. If any Associate has not met the elevation requirements by the first day of his or her third semester of Review membership while in residence at Ithaca, his membership shall automatically terminate. Upon the Associate's request, the Board of Editors shall vote to delay termination for another semester to permit the Associate to attempt to meet his elevation requirements. A majority vote shall be required for a delay. Such a vote must be taken if the Associate so requests. During this period the Associate will have the same status as the second year Associates and will be required to perform an equivalent amount of publication process assignments and on call duties. Only Editors shall be eligible to attend and vote at this meeting. Subsequent to the first annual meeting, the second annual meeting shall be held at which time the officers shall be elected. All members of the Cornell Law Review shall be eligible to attend the second annual meeting but only Editors may vote. Procedures for both elections shall be specified in the Bylaws. [Amended March 2005, April 2008]
2. Special meetings of all members shall be called from time to time for the discussion of Law Review business. There shall be no quorum requirements for such meetings.
3. Special meetings of the Board of Editors may be called from time to time in the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief shall call such special meetings by providing notice of such meeting, including the subjects for discussion or consideration, via e-mail at least one week prior to the date of the meeting. Except as otherwise provided in this constitution, all members of the Cornell Law Review shall be eligible to attend special meetings of the Board of Editors, however, only Editors may vote at such meetings. The Editor-in-Chief shall call a special meeting of the Board of Editors when requested to do so in writing by any three Editors. Such written request shall include the subjects for discussion or consideration at the meeting. Any person attending a special meeting of the Board of Editors may introduce for discussion any matter appropriate for consideration by the Board of Editors without regard to whether such matter was included in the matters for discussion and consideration in the notice of meeting. No vote may be taken on any such matter except with the consent of a majority of the total number of Editors. [Amended April 2008]
4. Special meetings of all members of the Cornell Law Review shall be called to consider amendments to this constitution. The Editor-in-Chief shall call such meeting by providing notice of such meeting and distributing a copy of the proposed amendment to each member via e-mail at least one week prior to the date of the meeting. The Editor-in-Chief shall call such special meeting upon the approval by the Board of Editors of a proposed amendment pursuant to Article VI, section 1, of this constitution. All members shall be eligible to attend and vote at a special meeting of all members. [Amended April 2008]
5. For any meeting except a special meeting of all members, a quorum shall consist of two thirds of those who are (1) eligible to vote at that meeting and (2) attending classes in Ithaca at Cornell Law School. For a special meeting of all members for the purpose of considering an amendment to this constitution a quorum shall consist of three fourths of all members attending classes in Ithaca at Cornell Law School. In the absence of a quorum those eligible to vote and present may vote to set a new date for the meeting and direct the Editor-in-Chief to call such new meeting. [Amended March 2005]
6. Except as otherwise specified in this constitution or in the Bylaws, all questions shall be decided by majority vote of those present and eligible to vote.
7. No proxies shall be permitted at any meeting.
8. Nothing in this constitution or in the Bylaws shall prohibit the holding of meetings among Associates or Associates and Editors for the purpose of discussing any matters pertaining to the Cornell Law Review. Such meetings may be held informally without call or quorum requirements. Recommendations made at such meetings may be presented to the Board of Editors for action; however, no action taken at any such meeting shall have any binding effect.
Article VI Amendments and Bylaws
1. This constitution may be amended only in accordance with the following procedure. A proposed amendment shall be introduced at a second annual or special meeting of the Board of Editors. If approved at such meeting by majority vote of the Editors present, a special meeting of all members shall be called for the purpose of considering such amendment. At such meeting the amendment shall be approved if approved by two thirds of the total membership. Any proposed amendment shall also be submitted to the faculty of the Cornell Law School for such approval as they shall deem necessary. The amendment shall become effective upon approval by the law review membership and faculty.
2. Bylaws and amendments to the Bylaws shall be adopted by the Board of Editors at a duly called meeting and shall become effective upon approval by the faculty. [Amended April 2008]
Article VII Ratification
1. This constitution shall become effective when approved by two thirds of the total membership of the Cornell Law Review at a meeting called for that purpose and at which three fourths of the total membership shall constitute a quorum and approved by the faculty/student Law Review Committee of the Cornell Law School.
2. Upon effectiveness of this constitution, all members shall retain their status as Editors or Associates. Officers shall continue to serve until expiration of their terms. Any current procedures not inconsistent with this constitution may remain in effect pending the adoption of Bylaws.
Article VIII Grievance Committee
A Grievance Committee shall be constituted each year as provided in the Bylaws.
